Update 18/01/21
Although none of the December and early January gales occurred over spring tides, there has been erosion to the front of crest in some places. So, with a couple of windy days to come (Wednesday and Thursday this week) we have started recycling today from Cooden towards Herbrand Walk. How much shingle is moved and from where/to will depend on the severity of the weather later in the week, although – again – it does coincide with low rather than higher water level tides.
In general I expect there to be general east to west movement of machines over the next two weeks or so
Update 02/02/21
Although the current spring tides are not the highest, there has been sufficient wave activity to draw the beach down in several places. The forecast for the coming week or so is good, although potentially with cold northerly winds from the weekend onwards. The recycling team that was at Cooden is now heading west to address cliffing at Normans Bay and Beachlands before moving on to cover fagots exposed at Leyland Road, the loss of crest at 'White Horses' and then on to Sovereign Harbour.
It certainly looks as though there is sufficient work to keep machines fully occupied for another two weeks
Update 10/02/21
The majority of shingle moved by recycling tends to be over short distances, repairing recent erosion. While this works well for protecting higher risk areas, it doesn’t prevent a lot of shingle from reaching Cooden, from where it can be “lost” to Bexhill. Eventually we end up with too much sediment at Cooden and not enough at Sovereign Harbour and 'White Horses'
Consequently, we have to periodically move shingle along the entire frontage to try and address the shortfall of beach in the west. When this has been done in the past, it has often been March or April, when there is a chance of warmer weather and more people out on the beach. This year we are obviously still in lockdown so potentially when the weather improves there may be even more walkers on the beach than usual once spring arrives. Thus, to try and keep inconvenience to a minimum, we are arranging to do a week of long distance recycling, starting on Monday 15th February – and hoping the weather is not too nice, but not too rough.
We expect there to be 7 trucks running in convoy, and given the distance and the on-beach speed limit, they will probably only complete 8 or 9 journeys each day, so only pass any location about twice an hour with periods of peace and quiet in between
Update 04/03/21
Although there has been some spring-like weather as the Equinox approaches, there is still some shingle moving to be done before winter 2020-2021 can be considered over. The next phase will be – hopefully – a final week of bypassing from Langney to the north side of Sovereign Harbour, before the permitted operational window closes for summer on 31st March. Works will start on Monday 8th March and finish the following Friday, between 07:30 and 17:00 each day.
Further short haul recycling between Cooden and Sovereign Harbour is also expected, but with 8.0mCD tides due at the end of March these may be timed to coincide with these tides just in case stronger winds return. Unusually there are also 8.0mCD tides at the end of April, so there is no guarantee as to when works will be complete. We have had to work into May in some years, whilst others have seen machines leave the beach in March. Needless to say they will not remain longer than is necessary to maintain the required standard of defence
Update 22/03/21
Although two bulldozers have been working since storms 10 days ago, they will be unable to fully restore the beach before the 8.0mCD tides due early next week. Therefore a small recycling team restarts work today, at Normans Bay East today, before moving to Cooden tomorrow. Thereafter they will work east to west through to Sovereign Harbour.
Whilst the weather may seem to be set fair for spring at the moment, we have had plenty of occasions in the last 20 years, where March – or even April – has delivered one final storm. From thinking work was complete for another winter, we have been faced with several weeks more before the beach can be left in peace for the summer. Hopefully 2021 won’t be one of those years, and all works can be considered complete in the next couple of weeks.
Update 31/03/21
As nice as this warm spell of weather may be, it is not helping us move shingle to where it is required. A sudden influx of people to the beach means there is little room for both beach-goers and dumpers, particularly at high water. Consequently our plans are changing more or less on a daily basis at the moment.
The good news is that the 8.0m tide seems to be passing without incident, so no additional work should be created.
The Sovereign Harbour and 'White Horses' areas are still short of beach, so it is hoped to reinforce these areas after Easter, with 5 dumpers running in convoy from the centre of the bay. Hopefully we will get some more typical April weather, so that the beach will return to a more normal level of use for the time of year.
After finishing at Sovereign Harbour, machines will work back to Cooden to finish off any areas that have been missed. With luck and a fair wind, machines will be able to leave the beach for the summer sometime in mid to late April.
Update 21/04/21
I am sure you will be pleased to learn that beach works – barring any storms still to come – are almost finished for summer
Dumpers will continue between Cooden and Normans Bay East until Thursday afternoon, when all but one will finish. Small amounts of shingle still requiring will be provided by the one remaining truck on Friday. Next week the two bulldozers will do any final pushing up and complete a final levelling of the beach.
Under normal conditions we would continue working for a further week or so, but the outstanding work entails moving shingle from Cooden and Beachlands East to the harbour. As this would mean convoys of dumpers passing to and fro through the centre of the village we have agreed with the Agency to leave this until autumn. There are several reasons for this;
So running dumpers for up to 9km along the beach is even less attractive than normal
However, if it is not done now, it will have to be done in autumn. In the nicest possible way I hope we get some wet miserable days in October, when it will be less intrusive that it would be doing it now.
Update 30/04/21
The final machine has now left the beach, and hopefully none will be needed until late September or early October
I am sure we are all looking forward peaceful and warm summer
Update 04/10/21
With autumn now seemingly upon us, beach works will be restarting this week, initially with a single bulldozer.
The highest October tides fall on 7-10th October, which at the moment look as though they will be accompanied by lighter and then more northerly winds
Next Monday we will start one week of bypassing from Langney to the Northeast Beach, which will be followed general recycling between 'White Horses' and Cooden in preparation for the 8.0m tides in early November. Hopefully the worst of what weather we do receive will miss periods of highest tides
Update 15/10/21
Bypassing shingle round Sovereign Harbour will finish in the next hour or so, to be replaced by recycling from Monday. Initially work will continue at Sovereign Harbour Northeast beach and 'White Horses'. Most of the shingle delivered from Langney was left temporarily near the Martello tower because it needs to be placed on the toe rocks of the revetment near Macquarie Quay. It will be much quicker and less disruptive to residents if we do this next week using dumpers running below the beach crest than id it had been tipped on the beach and then pushed down with a bulldozer. So at the beginning of the week machines will work between PBSC and 'White Horses' over the top of the tide and then move to fill the revetment as the tide recedes.
For the remainder of the week they will gradually head east bolstering any depleted areas as they go. Eventually, and assuming further periods of settled weather, we intend to return some of the surplus shingle at Cooden all the way to the harbour, but as this can only be done if the crest remains complete we will be dependent on what the weather does in the coming weeks
Update 05/11/21
A couple of days ago forecasts led us to expect the potential for beach crest erosion overnight Saturday into Sunday. Over the last couple of days projected wave heights have gradually fallen, such that whilst there will be high water levels – particularly on Sunday at 12:30 – we are not expecting any significant crest erosion to occur.
Nevertheless the recycling team will continue working for another week or two. Regardless of how many short haul recycles we do, sediment continues to build up at Cooden. To avoid losing too much of it to Bexhill, periodically we have to initiate long haul recycles, where shingle from Cooden is taken all the way to Sovereign Harbour. This is obviously more intrusive for local residents than the shorter recycles, but is necessary if we are to maintain beach volumes in all areas of the beach. One week of long haul recycling will start on Monday. There will be seven dumpers travelling in convoy, with each round trip expected to take around 1.5 hours, so although they will travel the entire length of the frontage there will be some respite between.
The following week will see the return of short haul recycles and I will update on the likely locations for that work towards the end of next week
Update 16/11/21
Whilst hauling shingle from Cooden to Sovereign Harbour has stopped for now, it will need to resume at various times through the winter. Regardless of how determinedly we try to reduce the amount of shingle from reaching the eastern end of the frontage, it continues to build up at Cooden. As it is more sustainable to reuse sediment already on the beach than it is to keep dredging virgin areas of sea bed, then we will continue to try and make the best use of the shingle we already have.
This week machines are still at Cooden and reinstating areas of Herbrand Walk up to Normans Bay East, after which they will continue to move west to Beachlands. After that it is likely we will see shingle from The Kiosk and Pevensey outfalls moved to 'White Horses' and Sovereign Harbour
Update 22/11/21
Despite the relatively calm weather, there is still a shortfall of shingle at Sovereign Harbour. With north or northeast winds forecast all week, any dust generated by the dumpers should blow out to sea rather than inland, making it one of the better opportunities for the haul to the harbour. So from later this morning we will start moving shingle from the area of Pevensey outfalls up to the harbour. Initially there should be four dumpers travelling in convoy, with a fifth joining on Wednesday
Kind regards
Ian
Ian ThomasUpdated: Wednesday, January 19, 2022 17:44